Aircraft advertising



Dec. 1, 1936.

J. c. HAD DOCK ET AL AIRCRAFT ADVERT I S ING Filed Ap ril 13, 19323nventors John aliaddollli Patented Dec. 1, 1936 N s 6 0. PATENT OFFICEAIRCRAFT ADVERTISING John C. Haddock, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Zantford D.Granville, Springfield, Mass.; Alta M.. Granville administratrix of saidZantford D.

Granville, deceased Application April 13, 1932, Serial No. 605,070

4 Claims.

' Although this invention relates particularly to means for advertisingin the air, it is not the purpose of the applicants to limit it to such.

It has been'found impractical to use the exhaust gases alone to producea dense or sufficiently permanent smoke cloud, or to use a separateapparatus to form and emit the clouds of smokaso we have provided anapparatus and method for creating this smoke effect that is superior toany known.

One of the objects of our invention is to provide an apparatus that canbe conveniently installed in any airplane and to render the same easilyaccessible to the control of the driver.

Another object of our invention is to provide an apparatus having aneedle control valve approximately at the injection jet itself. Theadvantage of having the control located at this.

point eliminates lag in the emitting of smoke instantly, when pressed,inasmuch as the oil has a very short distance to travel before itvaporizes. In addition, the shutting off of the fuel in this fashion,prevents the dripping of oil into the exhaust pipe. In the absence ofthis type of shutoil, the smoke apparatus will cause a ragged stream ofsmoke to trail the main column after the control has been shut off. Thissmudge of trailing smoke is prevalent on all other types of injectionsystems and of course is fatal to good skywriting. The shut-01f must beclean, so with this apparatus it is possible to write dots and dasheswhich are absolutely perfect and which have no connecting strings ofsmoke which would tend to mar the clearness of each mark.

Another object of our invention is to have, at

all times, a constant pressure at the nozzle. This" constant pressure iscreated by means of an oil pump which will rapidly draw the liquid fromthe tank and thoroughly mix the oil with any appropriate chemical andwill keep the two thoroughly mixed at all times. This eliminates thenecessity of mixing the materials before placin them in the tank.

Another object of our invention is to provide a needle control valve andjet assembly which is capable of convenient removal, cleaning andreplacing of a jet in a short space of time. In

most types of assembly the lack of convenient accessibility has provenvery detrimental.

The invention will be best understood from further description withreference to the attached drawing illustrating a practical embodiment ofthe same.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure 1 represents an airplane with the apparatus attached thereto.

Figure 2 is a section and elevation of the various parts of theapparatus.

Figure 3 is a detailed sectional view of the nozzle attachment.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the smoke control lever.

In the illustrative embodiment, the plane In is shown in Figure 1 withthe apparatus attached thereto. Referring to Figure 2, the fuelinjection system, comprises a tank II, which con-- tains a supply ofsmoke producing substance, said tank having an outlet l2, an inlet I2, areturn pipe l3, and a vent l3.

Located between the supply tank II and the pressure regulating valve 4,is an oil pump I5, preferably driven by the plane engine, which pumpsthe mixture from tank I! through the pipes I2 and I6 into the needlecontrol valve l8, then through the needle I .9 to the nozzle 2|] whereit is vaporized by the heat of the gases in the exhaust pipe 2|.

The pressure regulating apparatus comprises a valve l4, having a passagel4 connecting directly with pipes l6 and I1, and a second passage 23extending vertically therefrom. A suitable pressure gage 25 isconveniently connected with the valve body as at 24, said gage locatedon the dashboard at 26. The passage 56 and the pipe l3 provide means forreturning the liquid to the supply tank.

Connecting with the upper end of the passage 23 and forming a valve seat28 at their juncture, is a compartment 21 containing a ball valve 29normally held down by a spring 30, which is controlled by the threadedpressure adjusting screw 3|.

The injection control apparatus comprises a valve 8 having a connection32 for the pipe ll. The inlet passage 33 opens into the main passage 34which is provided with a seat 35 for the needle control l9. Leadingdownwardly from the main passage 34 is an outlet 36 which is connectedto the nozzle 20 as at 31.

Secured to the exhaust pipe 2| is a supporting member 22 for the nozzle20. The nozzle consists of a lower section 38 perforated at 39 to'allowthe mixture to flow into the exhaust'pipe 2|, where it is vaporized bythe heat of the exhaust gases.

The nozzle 20 has an enlarged portion 40 which Ordinarily, the needlecontrol 19 seated by the spring, 46 but is released bymanipulation bythe operator of the lever 41, (see Fig; 4)' which is located on thecontrol stick48 of the plane. The lever is attached to the stick 48 bymeans of the screws 49. Integrally attached to the lever The threaded 41is a tube 50, adapted to receive the cable 5| and is secured at 52. Theother end of the cable 5| is secured to the link 53, which is secured tothe injection control apparatus by means of a nut 54.

Located below the fuselage and just back of the exhaust pipe 2! is apowerful searchlight 55, so positioned as to permit the dense clouds ofsmoke emitting from the exhaust pipe to flow over and around andpermitting the beam of light from the searchlight to be cast upon thedense clouds of smoke while flying thru the air, regardless of the speedof the plane.

The operation of the apparatus is as follows:

Prior to the operation of the device to produce the meteor or cometeffect, while the plane is in flight, the pump [5 which operates withthe engine of the plane, is continuously drawing the liquid from thetank H and directing it tothe valve I4. The needle control valve I8being normally closed, prevents the flow of the liquid thru the pipe ll,the pressure thereby opening the ball valve 29 and permitting the liquidto return to the tank I l thru the outlet 56 and the pipe l3.

The above described operation insures a complete mixture of the oil orother liquid and any suitable chemical for producing a smoke effect. Ifso desired, a chemical may be introduced for imparting a suitable colorto the smoke stream.

Any sulphur dye of reddish tint which would not be decomposed by theheat of the exhaust pipe would give the smoke a very red glow, or ifanother color would be desired, such as green, the use of barium nitratein finely divided form may be mixed intimately with the oil, and whenthe passages 44 and 45 into the nozzle 20, and then thru the jets 39into the exhaust pipe 2| where it becomes vaporized, and then passes outof the exhaust opening in the form of a heavy smokelike vapor to beeventually illuminated by the rays from the searchlight 55.

The oil pump l5 permits of a high pressure at all times, and iscontrolled by a relief valve l4 and a pressure gage 25. The pressure maybe adjusted by the pressure adjusting screw 3|.

When the needle control I9 is seated, the flow of the liquid is stoppedand as the oil pump l5 continues to force the liquid thru the pressureregulating valve M, the liquid no longer escapes thru the injectionvalve I8, and a back pressure results, thereby raising the ball 29 fromits seat 28, and so returns thru the passage 56 to pipe l3 and into theliquid tank I l, and at the same time registers pressure on gage 25.

Calling your attention to the location of the needle control IS, theclose proximity of the needle to the outlet nozzle prevents andeliminates any lag in the shutting off of the flow of the liquid.Because of the short distance the liquid has to travel beforevaporizing, it allows no ragged stream of smoke to train the main columnafter the flow has been cut 011. With this clean shut-ofi', it ispossible to write absolutely perfect dots and dashes, with no connectingstrings of smoke whatever.

This system makes an ideal installation for skywriting, laying a smokescreen, or when using it at night with a very powerful searchlight. Inplacing the searchlight inside the stream of smoke it will give forththe appearance of a huge ball of fire shooting across the sky,resembling very closely a huge shooting star or meteor. The rays oflight are reflected in the column of smoke and give it a reddish glow,resembling a terrifically hot ball of fire at the light and graduallydiminishing into what appears to be a sheet of flame several hundredfeet to the rear of the ship.

As the invention may be applied with various modifications to thevarious forms of construction of planes without departing from itsspirit and scope, the appended claims are not intended to limit the sameto the specific form disclosed.

We claim:

1. In a smoke producing apparatus, a heated conduit, meansforintroducing a smoke producing substance under pressure, and means formaintaining a constant pressure, said means comprising a pressurecontrol valve, said valve having means for adjusting to a predeterminedpressure, emission means comprising a needle control and a nozzle, saidneedle located in close proximity to the nozzle, and means for creatinga meteor or comet effect, said means including a searchlight directly infront of the heated conduit outlet so that the stream of smoke-likesubstance will pass around and over said searchlight.

2. In a smoke-producing apparatus, an exhaust pipe of a motor drivenaircraft, means for emitting a stream of smoke-like substance and meansfor illuminating said stream for a substantial distance beginning at thepoint of emission of said stream, said means including a searchlightpositioned directly in front of the exhaust pipe outlet sov that thestream of smokelike substance will pass over and around saidsearchlight.

3. In an aeroplane, an exhaust pipe means for creating a meteor or cometeffect in the air in cluding a supply chamber, means connected to thepower plant for pumping the smoke producing liquid from the supplychamber to the exhaust pipe, and means for regulating the pressure ofsaid liquid, and registering said pressure, means for controlling saidliquids entrance into a perforated nozzle and under the control of theoperator of the aeroplane, said perforated nozzle extending into saidexhaust pipe, a searchlight so located in the path of emission of thesmoke from the exhaust pipe when the aeroplane is in flight as to causethe illuminated smoke to take the appearance of a huge ball of flre.

4. In an aeroplane, an exhaust 'pipe means for creating a meteor orcomet effect in the air including a smoke-producing apparatus connectedto and operated by the power plant, said smokeproducing apparatusprovided with a perforated emission nozzle extending into the exhaustpipe of the aeroplane, a searchlight positioned in respect to the outletend of said exhaust pipeso that the smoke emitting therefrom will passover and around said searchlight to permit the rays from the searchlightto be reflected upon the smoke and give the appearance of a huge ball 0fire.

ZANTFORD D. GRANVILLE. JOHN C. HADDOCK.

